SaS Wants to Initiate No-confidence Motion in Government over Fico-Putin Meeting

Bratislava, December 23 (TASR) - The Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party will propose to its colleagues in the opposition to jointly initiate a special House session with no-confidence in Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government on the agenda in reaction to Fico's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is viewed by SaS as treason. SaS reiterated that Fico doesn't behave like a premier of a sovereign country, but as a collaborator, throwing Slovakia into international isolation. "We can legitimately ask how our partners in the EU and NATO will approach us. Fico in Moscow serves Russian propaganda and shames us. That's why we'll propose to our opposition colleagues that we immediately after the New Year initiate a special House session with a sole issue on the agenda, namely the no-confidence motion in the government of Robert Fico," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling. The party refuses to pretend that Fico is representing the citizens of Slovakia at meetings with Putin. "No, he isn't - a war criminal shouldn't be negotiated with. Fico's government must fall," said Groehling. SaS stressed that Putin has the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent victims on his hands. "Holding talks with this person about anything means a betrayal not only of our country, but also of our EU and NATO allies," stated SaS. Premier Robert Fico met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday (December 22). They spoke about the military situation in Ukraine, the possibilities of a peaceful solution to the war, as well as bilateral relations between Slovakia and Russia that Fico wishes to to standardise. Russian gas transit was also on the agenda of their talks. Fico claims that he has been pursuing a sovereign policy in relation to all four cardinal directions and that he informed the EU's top officials about his trip in advance. ko/mcs